Central Link, the facts

On TVM’s Xtra last Thursday I affirmed that the widening of roads alone would not solve Malta’s traffic challenges, but this does not mean we should do nothing in the meantime. Can we afford not to build safer, more efficient roads and to do nothing for t

The Central Link Project is by far the most beneficial solution to our transport challenges in the central part of Malta we have on the cards. The project’s approval has struck a raw nerve with segments of the public, with some opponents condemning it due to the uprooting of trees and the use of additional land outside existing roads, including agricultural fields. There has also been some exaggerated and fake news, notably the suggestion that we would be removing the Aleppo Pine trees ( znuber) from Saqqajja Hill and the western part of Mdina Road, all the way to the Our Lady of Victory Chapel. This is simply not true.

Actually, along this stretch of road, we will only be removing three trees and planting 200 new ones, including 125 mature Aleppo Pines. And while we will be removing or transplanting other trees along the rest of the route towards Mriehel, ultimately – when the project is ready – Attard and Balzan will have 285 more mature native trees than they have now. Hundreds of other trees will be planted in other parts of Malta, as further compensation for the project’s environmental impacts.

There is a consensus that the traffic problem in Attard needs to be tackled. We may disagree on how this should be done, but we cannot postpone it any longer.

The project will see seven kilometres of additional lanes built along the arterial route between the roundabout at the foot of Saqqajja Hill, in Ta’ Qali, up to the traffic-lights junction opposite the Malta Financial Services Authority in Mrieħel.

The problem we have is that, if you are coming from the direction of Mrieħel you are passing through a road with four lanes. Once you leave the Saqqajja roundabout, where the project is going to end, you also have a road with four lanes. But the whole stretch of road in-between has two lanes only.

So, we are either going to admit that these two lanes are missing, or else that the lanes on the other roads are extra. It is a recipe for a classic bottleneck.

The Central Link project will allow traffic that has been pushed into the residential roads in the heart of Attard, Balzan and Lija by this bottleneck to continue going straight through. Whilst these narrow residential roads will be freed from through-traffic pollution and accident risks, commuters along this new arterial route will reduce travel times by half. We will also reduce particulate matter pollution by up to 66 per cent and nitrogen dioxide emissions by 41 per cent, even when considering potential future increases in transport demand.

I disagree with claims that no other options had been studied before the final plans were drawn up. All the scientific studies carried out show that the project in its current format is the most feasible option. These studies have been publicly available for months, having been published by the ERA as part of the development-permitting process that led to last week’s approval of the project. However, we have no difficulties about sharing them or other information with interested parties.

Contrary to what some critics of the project may say, the agency always takes constructive feedback on board. Our doors are always open to discuss improvements to this project, to reap greater benefits for Malta and to minimise any negative impacts. Every day, at the Infrastructure Malta offices, my colleagues and I are meeting farmers, Green lobbyists, local councils and residents to listen to their concerns and identify solutions.

For example, one farmer asked whether soil from his field along the road could be transferred to another field he owns. We will also be relocating farmers’ greenhouses and other agricultural structures to nearby fields, so that their operations will not be disrupted. Some residents have also requested additional pedestrian crossings and we are including these as well.

Cars on Malta’s roads continued to increase throughout the years irrespective of how wide the roads are. There were times when Malta made roads narrower and cars continued to increase, and now we are widening roads and people are saying cars are going to increase, so it is not really about how wide the roads are.

It is all about long-term planning and comprehensive actions. Infrastructural investments like the Central Link Project are as important to improve our quality of life and to support Malta’s economic and social progress as much as longer-term plans for mass transport solutions, electrification and other major future transport milestones that we will be reaching in the future.

I would like to make an observation from the conclusion of economist Gordon Cordina’s review of the costs and benefits of seven of our major road projects. His analysis confirms that while, on average, Malta will get €7 back for every €1 we are spending on these projects, this return on investment goes up to €16 for the Central Link Project. His workings are based on what is, in fact, saved in fiscal terms when it comes to spending less time in traffic, thus having more quality time with our families, more time for work, lower fuel costs and lower accident costs and, of course, less air pollution. Ultimately, we are working hard to give Malta a better quality of life.